The journey back home was long and tiring for Ashlyn, and she was made even more exhausted by having to keep up her powers. One of her gifts that she had been able to build upon, was that she was able to make people see things that weren't there. She had made her plane ticket appear, she had made it appear as though she had luggage, and then she made it appear as though she was waiting for a transfer ride from the airport to home, when really she was travelling down the motorways and roads, sitting cross-legged on a disk of her own shield energy, with her hands outstretched in front of her. Her ride was rather pleasant, she relished in the feeling of the sun and the warm air, the sound of the seagulls as she travelled along the Queensland Coast and the salty smell of the sea, all feelings of home and safety came running back. However, whatever she was feeling was pushed out of the window as she reached her street and up ahead, she saw people and vans gathered around one house. Putting her back down on the floor, she ran over towards the crowd, and as she got closer, she found that it was her family home that they had crowded around. So, fighting back her emotions to keep herself calm and everyone around her safe, she soon found a lady who was near the front, with a good view.
"What's happening?" Ashlyn asked.
"Some man has locked himself, his wife and his daughter inside the house with a shotgun and grenades." The woman told her, not looking at her.
"He keeps saying that he's waiting for someone, his wife's daughter or something." The man next to her added in.
Ashlyn nodded, before she pulled the hood of her jacket up over her head as she disappeared into the crowd once more, moving to the far back and then some so that she couldn't be seen by many. Now she had to come up with some form of plan, and bide her time.
Meanwhile, back at the Xavier Mansion, Pieter was walking through the corridors and he stopped outside of Ashlyn's room. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.
"Ashlyn, its Pieter." His thick Russian accent, giving his voice a mysterious deepness, however he soon turned confused and curious as he didn't get a response. "Ash?" He asked again, before he decided – against his better judgement – to push the door open and he found the room empty. Looking around, he soon found the note, and he picked it up quickly reading it.
"Professor!" His mental self suddenly shouted as he got to the end of the note.
"Pieter, what is it?" The Professor's voice came back loud and clear.
"It's Ashlyn...She's gone..."
"Come to my study, Pieter." The Professor instructed. "And bring the note you're holding."
With his instructions, Pieter left the room, only he left at a much quicker pace, breaking into a run and when he got to the stairs he took them two at a time. Everyone he went past threw themselves backwards out of the way, not wanting to be run into by someone as solid as Colossus. Meanwhile, in the Professor's study, Xavier was doing the equivalent of pacing the room, rolling his wheelchair up and down the width of his room. He was puzzled by Pieter telling him that Ashlyn had left, because he hadn't seen her intentions, then he realised, he hadn't been inside Ashlyn's head or heard her thoughts in a while. Which only meant one thing, she'd started blocking herself from everything, he wasn't aware that she could do that, and it made him wonder what else she was capable of.
However, the Professor didn't have long to dwell on it, before he heard a knock on his door and he looked at it.
"Come in Storm, you too Logan."
At his words, both Logan and Storm walked in, both of them curious as to why they had been called to Xavier's study.
"What's this about Charles?" Storm asked.
"We shall see soon enough, Pieter will be here soon." He looked at the door as it was pushed open and Pieter ran in. "Ah, just in time."
Pieter looked at everyone, before he walked over to the Professor and handed him a now very crumpled note, before he sat on one of the sofas.
"Okay, what's going on?" Logan asked.
"Pieter went to get Ashlyn for me this morning, and he found this note, and no Ashlyn." Xavier explained.
"What does it say Charles?" Storm asked. "Does it tell us where she is?"
Xavier read through the note once more, before he decided to repeat it to the people in the room.
"To whoever reads this, Logan gave me some rather good advice, he told me that being back home for a while might do me some good. And after some thought, I've decided that he's right, I really miss home and there's nothing here for me now. At home I'm useful, here...I'm a murderer. I'm sorry if this seems like the cowards way out, but I've got no other way to sort myself out. But I won't be coming back, and Professor, if you're reading this, then I just want to say thanks. Thank you for giving me an opportunity, but I'd best go back where I belong. Maybe I'll see you all again if you come to Australia, it'd be a fun adventure. Anyway, thanks again for everything, maybe I'll see you around. Ashlyn."
By the time he had finished, everyone was looking at him shocked, no one had an idea that Ashlyn was so unhappy there that she'd rather go back to her life at home.
However, they didn't have much time to dwell on it, when they saw the news about what was happening in Ashlyn's hometown, and right outside of her house. They all stared at the screen, then at each other, before Pieter noticed a familiar face.
"Look, Ashlyn's already there." Pieter told them, pointing to the screen where they saw a still hooded Ashlyn stood away from the crowd.
"She's biding her time." Logan told them. "Something is going to blow and I think it might be Ashlyn."
"If she's gotten home whilst all this was going on, this is going to be like sending a bull into a china shop." Storm added.
"Everyone suit up, we're going to help Ashlyn whether she wants anything to do with the X-Men or not." Xavier told them. "Pieter, you suit up too, you and Ashlyn are close, and so you could help her."
Pieter nodded. Yes Professor." He then walked off with Storm and Logan.
When everyone was ready, they all met up at the jet, before Storm and the Professor took the controls and they were suddenly flying. Pieter looked out of the window as they flew, he was worried about Ashlyn. Though his worry eased ever so slightly when they saw Australia coming up ahead of them, and they noticed how dark it had gotten.
"Come on, it might be dark but Ashlyn will still be near the house, keeping tabs." Xavier told the group, and all of them left the jet in an abandoned field, heading to where they had seen Ashlyn, on foot.
It felt like ages, but they soon found themselves walking down the road towards where Ashlyn's house was, and halfway up the road, Logan stopped.
"Logan, what is it?" Pieter asked as he saw the mutant sniffing he air.
"Ashlyn's here." He told them, and they all looked around, and sure enough they saw a figure stood in the road up ahead, and Xavier recognised who it was.
"Ashlyn, it's alright, we're here to help you." He told her.
"I don't need your help." She told him, walking to stand in front of them.
"At least have us here for support." Storm told her. "Whatever this man is doing, is on the news back home."
"It's nothing to do with you guys, he's not after any of you, and he isn't going to do anything until he has me." She told them.
"So what's the plan kid?" Logan asked.
"My plan is to get in the house, and if he releases the pin on the grenades, then I can protect my family and blow that bastard up." Ashlyn told him. "You guys are going home."
"Vike hell vi am." Pieter told her, grabbing her arm as she went to walk away. "If you're planning a suicide mission, then so am vi."
"Ashlyn think about this, how do you expect to be able to contain it?" Storm asked, and she watched as Ashlyn made a ball of glowing energy appear around her hand. "Is that going to be enough?"
"To stop a grenade?" Logan asked. "Maybe, there's more to the kid than meets the eye." He told them, sharing a smile at Ashlyn who made the ball of light disappear.
"Alright Ashlyn, but we'll do all we can to help you get inside." Xavier told her, this seemed to satisfy Ashlyn and they all headed towards the house.
When they got close, some armed policemen suddenly stood at attention, holding their guns at them.
"Stop right there." One ordered.
"My name is Ashlyn Carplesteen, I am the person he is waiting for." Ashlyn spoke to them. "If you don't let me go to them, a lot of people are going to die." She told them, and the policemen suddenly gripped their guns tighter, before one started speaking into his speaker, asking for backup.
"Let her through, don't you understand that she is the only one who can protect everyone here?" Storm told them.
"Ash, just make a run for it." Logan told her.
"No, not yet." Ashlyn told him, before she noticed something in the window of the house. "Gun!" She shouted, and as everyone ducked, with Logan throwing herself over Charles, she ran towards the house, slamming into the door and breaking it open. She heard her friends calling for her, but she didn't answer as she was suddenly tackled by her step-father. As she fought against him, she saw her half-sister Jamie; she had hold of the grenade, pushing her step-father off her she ran for Jamie.
"Jamie, put it down." She told her.
"I can't." She whispered, looking to the side, where Ashlyn aw her mother's body, she was bleeding, and still, and Ashlyn sensed no life in her. She'd lost her mother, but she wasn't going to lose Jamie to, she couldn't.
"She's under my power now Ashlyn." Her step-father told her.
Ashlyn looked back at him, before she closed her eyes. "Professor, try and out think him, please."
"Jamie, walk outside with that grenade." Her step-father told the younger girl and Ashlyn watched as Jamie walked outside, before she felt a gun be held to the base of her back and she was forced to follow.
Meanwhile, outside, Storm gasped as she saw Jamie walk out, with tears streaming down her face as she kept looking back for Ashlyn. Xavier, Peter and Logan all watched as the officers threw themselves to their feet and drew their guns on the child.
"Drop the grenade!" One officer barked at Jamie.
"I can't." She sobbed.
"We don't want to hurt you sweetheart, just drop the grenade." A woman told her, she sounded nicer, but still strict.
"She can't, don't you hear what she's saying?" Ashlyn shouted to them.
"Walk towards the officers and throw it at them." Ashlyn's step-father ordered, and Jamie looked back at her older sister as she was forced to do as he said. She couldn't stop even when the officers were about to shoot. She only stopped, when one of them shot her through the chest.
"Jamie!" Ashlyn screamed as she watched her little sister fall to the ground, the grenade rolling towards he police officers who scarpered. Suddenly she threw her head back and head butted her step-father, before she outstretched a hand and as the grenade exploded, it was engulfed in a shield. Everyone watched as the strain of keeping the explosion contained started to show on Ashlyn, but she still kept the shield going, eventually closing it as the blast simmered into nothing. When it was gone, she fell to her knees where she had stood and as her step-father brandished his gun, Logan suddenly had his claws out and pointed at him.
"I wouldn't bub." He told him.
Storm, Peter and Xavier walked to where Ashlyn had dragged herself over to her sister's body and they looked on as she hugged it tight. She had no one now, and people had seen what she was able to do, so what was she going to do now? All she could do was hold her sister's body closer, and pray that everything was going to be okay again.